Originating on the Nintendo DS, the first Professor Layton game asked players to solve a number of brainteasers as the titular academic and his assistant, Luke, while unearthing a conspiracy behind a strange town. Calling it successful would be an understatement! In response, developer Level-5 gave him five sequels, a crossover with Capcom’s Ace Attorney series, and a healthy amount of supplemental media. His sixth mainline adventure was advertised as his last, and while he’s slated to come out of retirement this year, a seventh title released in 2017: Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy. Deservedly, it does not share its predecessors’ acclaim, but even the worst Layton has to have some merit, right…?
Image: Source Gaming. Emiliana Perfetti’s intrusive debut in Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy – Deluxe Edition, a humble re-release for the Nintendo Switch.
Professor Hershel Layton’s adventures got pretty unwieldy by the end! Without spoiling them, a soft reboot starring his daughter, a newcomer without his baggage, was a smart call. Although Mystery Journey brings back a few minor characters and is set in the series’ primary haunt of London, most of its eccentrics are brand new. One of them caught my attention prior to its release…
Emiliana Perfetti’s History
Juxtaposing the off-kilter Kat with an investigator who is more traditional and seasoned is another smart call, and that role is filled by Emiliana Perfetti, or Geraldine Royer to Japanese players. Voiced by Sally Knyvette and Kuroki Meisa, respectively, the stoic Scotland Yard study appears in half of Mystery Journey’s twelve cases. She’s even playable at a few points, appears in its “Ideal Meal” minigame (evidently, she’s on a health kick and relishes a good tandoori chicken, salad, and pumpkin soup), and pens a case coda.
Image: Source Gaming. Alluding to her antagonistic nature, Emiliana bluntly means “rival,” while Geraldine translates to “ruler with a spear.”
Unsurprisingly, she’s also a fixture in the game’s Japan-exclusive anime adaptation / sequel Layton Mystery Detective Agency: Kat’s Mystery-Solving Files. Sporting a somewhat expanded role and new voice actress, Hibiku Yamamura, the famed “forensic analyst and profiling expert” remains a thorn in Katrielle’s side. Alas, Emiliana hasn’t yet had an opportunity to strut her stuff outside these two titles… and, arguably, never really has.
So, what’re my thoughts on Emiliana?
Great rivalries thrill me. However, a competition between two people alone does not make one. Compelling feuds explore ideological differences. In Devil May Cry 3, hero Dante rejected his demonic heritage whereas his edgy brother Vergil embraced his; conflict ensues. Kind-hearted Ash Ketchum’s most engaging equal is Paul, who not only matched him in experience but was also his brutal, philosophical opposite. Wario is a crude, brutish, hilarious inversion and exaggeration of his selfless, acrobatic inspiration. Outside gaming, there’s Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba. One embodies the idea that your history informs your identity; the hero lost his memories of his previous life—including his own name!—and seeks to regain them. Conversely, Kaiba eminently rejects his past. Appropriately, we never learn the orphan’s original surname; it’s irrelevant. These are a handful of rivalries that stuck with me, a list that constantly grows.
Image: Source Gaming. Scotland Yard dubs our subject “Perfect Perfetti,” conveying how critical she is to their operations. And her debut in Case 2 of Mystery Journey effectively sets the stage for an intriguing ideological clash.
First, some context: Case 1 was a weird misunderstanding Kat solved with little hassle. While she’d deny it, though, luck played a part; a restaurant and a bakery she happened to visit conveniently housed invaluable clues. Since Case 1’s the tutorial, the lack of stakes, the cast’s “funny” quirks, and even the bizarrely saccharine, fragmented take on London were all… tolerable. But it was neither satisfying nor engaging, and I was left hoping the next mystery would escalate things.
Initially, it looked promising! Case 2 revolves around a potential murder, although it’s Emiliana Perfetti’s debut that impressed me. After leaving the mayor’s office, we bump into her. With a disapproving glare, she chides the “so-called detective” for relying on “gut feelings and instinct.” Our heroes, including the typically unflappable Kat, are caught as off-guard as I was! Then Emiliana formally introduces herself and boasts that she uses “hard evidence. Facts and figures.” Meekly, Kat compliments her, though Emiliana continues, saying that she’s on the case and Kat’s involvement would cause headaches; “just leave it to the professionals.” Regaining her composure, Kat inquires, does it matter what one’s methods are so long as the mystery is solved? Claiming she’ll crack the case, Kat departs as Emiliana dismissively mutters that simply being Professor Layton’s daughter means nothing. This is unquestionably the best, most tense scene in the whole game; Emiliana dislikes Kat, their styles clash, and we’re given a harsh bar through which our heroine will be measured by. And where Mystery Journey normally champions verbose, vapid conversations, it accomplishes this in about a minute!
Image: Source Gaming. Usually, the larger person in a rivalry looks more imposing (a preconception Dragon Ball author Akira Toriyama loved toying with). That doesn’t factor into this duo, as their height difference is negligible; if we’re including her hat, the more unconventional, successful Kat inches ahead.
Plus, the dames’ designs nicely augment their personalities. Where Kat’s casual outfit predominantly flaunts a warm red and tan, Emiliana dresses in a subdued, cool blue. One of these gals would love to spend all day hitting the town with you, the other would harshly ridicule the suggestion, and their fashion sense alone instantly sells which one’s which. Smartly, their outfits also incorporate black, undergirding both with formal, authoritative undercurrents. More so the brunette brainiac, however, as it’s more prominent on her. Where they differ the most is in how they accessorize: Katrielle echoes her pops and adores hats, while Emiliana wears glasses, which suit her intellectual image and allow for some amusing animations. Altogether, the analyst has a solid design, one whose palette is nicely complemented by her complexion, white shirt, and yellow tie—the latter two of which imply she might harbor a brighter, kinder side.
If I had to name one criticism with Emiliana’s veneer, it’s that she’s proportionally too similar to Kat and her assistant, Ernest. This isn’t even a nitpick to level at Emiliana specifically, to be clear! But it’s… just a tad weird that London’s three brightest investigators all happen to be brainy bobbleheads, especially when the city’s denizens are otherwise visually diverse. Comparisons to the older games are unflattering, too; Professor Layton, Luke, and the prequel trilogy’s Emmy don’t blur together.
Image: Source Gaming. If I had a choice, I’d tweak Ernest over Emiliana (there’s nothing wrong with his design as-is, but I’m less partial to him and I find Emiliana’s is stronger), but this is, admittedly, the tiniest of nitpicks.
Anyway, Emiliana returns later in Case 2 during a scene that highlights the ladies’ mutual dislike. But then Perfect Perfetti admits that her profiling is incomplete, leaves, and Kat makes good on her word and solves everything. Now, the ordeal ends with another copout, a harbinger of how nothing of consequence ever happens in Mystery Journey (c’mon, it’s a Layton game whose subtitle is “the Millionaires’ Conspiracy;” that demands drama or deception). But it still left an important impact on Kat’s journey through Emiliana. Surely, she’ll become a contentious force with whom we’ll regularly compete against and gradually befriend, right? Kat believes she’s already a seasoned pro, a lofty standard this judgmental thinker will test… right?
Well, sorta. Emiliana graces Cases 3, 5, and 8. In Case 3, she coincidentally attends a film premiere alongside Katrielle’s agency. They hang out and collaborate, though she departs before the conclusion… where, again, Kat uncovers the truth. Then they spend all of Case 5 together; this one’s treated as a tie. But Kat scores a third victory in Case 8! Everyone’s attending a cruise, a priceless statue’s stolen, and the analyst’s approach proves insufficient when the culprit is the whole crew in an elaborate conspiracy. On paper, these affairs hit necessary notes: Emiliana makes some jabs at Kat, but she lightens up a little (presumably, Ms. Layton’s chipper nature is a positive influence) and we witness her limitations.
Image: Source Gaming. A potential boon to Journey’s episodic approach is that it constantly presents fresh scenarios. Sadly, this one hurts the cool, logical Perfect Perfetti’s reputation. At least she bonds with Ernest over films; she has hobbies and a life outside work.
However, while Emiliana’s character does palpably change over time (another difference from the largely static Kat), Level-5 didn’t handle that change delicately. The hostility that made for such a strong first impression disappears abruptly. Mystery Journey, speaking to its comedic aspirations, forces a lame gag onto Emiliana in Case 5 where she’s cartoonishly afraid of ghosts. She also complains a lot. Worst of all, none of these episodes ever give the “perfect” investigator a chance to validate her methods, or get a leg up on Kat. Good rivalries need both parties to be engaged, capable—and Emiliana isn’t.
Until two moments in Case 11, the penultimate case. Now, Kat’s on the lam after being framed for murder, and the police chief’s on her tail! Surprisingly, he cuts Katrielle off—thanks to Emiliana, who correctly figured she’d flee by boat. She manages to escape, and later, a swerve: Emiliana, critical analyst extraordinaire, decides to give her boss a bogus lead to buy Ms. Layton more time to investigate. While she insists it’s purely because she wants a proper investigation conducted, that still proves the atypical detective has earned her respect. It’s a nice scene in isolation, one Case 12 builds on by cementing Perfect Perfetti as a member of Kat’s circle (even if, again, she insists she’s only helping for the sake of justice). However, these scenes follow hours of the gruff egghead rarely contributing any worthwhile deductions, disappearing for hours on end, and being reduced to a sour sidekick who pretends she’d never be Kat’s pal. Is this really a rivalry?
Image: Source Gaming. It’s good that Emiliana skips a few cases (I’d also argue that, say, Ridley shouldn’t crash every Metroid; their appearances should feel eventful, impactful). Still, she needed more material and better material.
Kindly, the anime kinda spends an episode exploring that. I haven’t seen much of the show—I mean, it never officially hit the States and adapts a game I don’t care for—so I never met the poor soul crushing on Emiliana. But I did watch Episode 40, wherein the Layton ladies mostly spend it competing in a frivolous contest to see who’s more perceptive. Not only does it convey the cyan scholar’s gray matter, but it effectively ends in her victory! Basically, the cops were on a stakeout, Emiliana used Kat to kill time, and waited until her rival’s presumed victory to pounce on the criminal, leaving Kat fuming. Yeah, it’s hardly comedy gold (though the fighting game-esque announcer and versus screens are fun), nor does it interrogate their philosophies. Nevertheless, it’s the most humorous thing I’ve seen from this whole wing of the Professor Layton franchise. And giving Emiliana the ultimate win, loose and inconsequential it may be, also imbues her with some much needed credibility.
Alas, whatever sparks briefly empower Emiliana amount to nothing. She had a point: luck often factors into Katrielle’s work, a fact Mystery Journey never sincerely grills. And seeing a compelling dynamic discarded almost immediately after it’s introduced is disappointing, especially since the off-kilter detective needed a reliable rival. Professor Layton’s hounded by many creeps across his adventures. Yes, Emiliana was never a direct replacement—she isn’t an evildoer—but taking a breather from Mystery Journey’s sterile, overly affable depiction of London with someone serious would’ve been lovely. Maybe it’d even help channel a bit more of that classic Layton spirit?
Image: Anime Plot. Filler episodes aren’t inherently bad! They provide space to explore dynamics heavy, plot-focused arcs couldn’t. And though this one hardly won me over on Mystery Journey’s cast, it manages to elevate Emiliana a bit.
Eh, probably not. If nothing else, though, Emiliana is probably my favorite character in Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy. Sure, neither leave a strong lasting impression; my colleagues NantenJex and Slink were surprised to learn I was writing about Emiliana because they understandably forgot about her! Still, Mystery Journey is rife with one-dimensional caricatures, milquetoast mysteries that somehow always end in smiles and sunshine, and brainteasers that fall beneath the series’ standard (rest in peace, Akira Tago). If nothing else, Ms. Perfetti is conceptually sound. That’s something I can still appreciate.
Congratulations, Emiliana! You know the proper methods!
Image: Source Gaming. For the record, I intend to watch more of the anime someday. Who knows! Maybe it’ll even inspire another article.
Thanks to NantenJex for helping with edits.
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I haven’t thought about Episode 40 of the anime specifically in comparison to Emiliana’s game treatment, but now that you’ve pointed it out I can definitely think back and see why it was an episode that stuck out to me, actually following through on the rivalry set up in the game and a few earlier episodes.
I can’t say I’m surprised at the notion, though. Even as someone who did enjoy the game, the anime does pretty much everything better in my opinion. I recall being disappointed by some episodes that adapted the game cases leaving Emiliana out of them, but maybe it was a deliberate choice to save her for new cases that could use her more properly.
Along with how Episode 40 focuses on their rivalry, I also just thought it was kinda fun watching Katrielle and Emiliana compete in such a goofy manner (I wish I had room for one of the fighting game-esque versus screens in this article). It’s a perfect premise for a one-off episode. Skimming over an episode list, it also appears like Episode 40 might serve as a lighthearted break of sorts between more “serious” cases? Not that I expect this show to get dark, of course, but there’s value in providing a breather between more involved episodes.
It is disappointing that Emiliana gets cut in adaptions of cases she originally appeared in. Still, I am eager to see more of Kat’s Mystery-Solving Files—both to see how it diverges from Mystery Journey as well as to see its original material. You saying the anime is stronger than the game is encouraging! I’m glad to hear the new cases treat Emiliana better, too. Dunno when I’ll have the time to watch it (especially since I need to make time to rewatch some Pokémon episodes), but I plan to sometime this year. Maybe it’ll even motivate me to finish the articles on Kat and Ernest I had workshopped alongside Emiliana’s.
…With that said, I intend to watch the “Professor Layton and the Relics Treasure” arc soon. For whatever reason, I can’t muster much excitement for New World of Steam. But it’s been nice thinking about the series again for the first time since 2017, and I’ve always wanted to discover what happened to Layton and Luke. I’m also thinking I might dig up some of the older games for a replay; Mystery Journey aside (which I own on the 3DS and Switch), I’ve only gone through each game once. I remember all the big twists, but forgot a lot of the moment-to-moment stuff.